Drawbridge Replacement Is Debated

Fort Lauderdale residents attending a forum on proposed alternatives to the existing Southeast 17th Street Causeway bridge debated on Wednesday whether money should be spent replacing the structure at all.

The state Department of Transportation contends frequent openings to let boat traffic pass the existing drawbridge over the Intracoastal Waterway clog traffic in the area. Therefore, transportation planners have proposed spending as much as $72 million to build a tunnel or taller bridge to replace the existing span.

But many residents and one businessman at a forum on the project disagreed.

``This is basically a five-months-per-year problem. We can live with it,`` said a 17th Street shop owner who declined to identify himself. ``In June or July, you can fire a cannon down 17th Street and not hit anything.``

``I don`t think it`s so bad,`` said a woman, who also declined to identify herself. The woman, a resident of Southeast 21st Avenue, said the cost of replacing the bridge was not worth the benefit of alleviating sporadic delays.

``All these people who live down there are retired people, so what does 10 minutes mean?`` she asked.

Bruce Seiler, project manager for the transportation department, said such sentiments were uncommon.

He said the department had gotten an overwhelming consensus that the bridge had to be replaced. In addition, he said the existing structure, which was built in 1956, is due to be replaced.

The department is scheduled to deliver a report evaluating options for replacing the bridge to the Federal Highway Administration in one month.

The report, prepared by the consulting firm of Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas Inc., reveals among other things that operating a tunnel costs about three times as much as maintaining a drawbridge.

A tunnel, which would cost from $49.3 million to $72 million to build, would cost $300,000 annually to operate, Seiler said. The bulk of the expenses would be for ventilation, he said.

A higher drawbridge, which could be built for $11.3 million to $18.5 million, would cost $100,000 per year to operate.

A fixed bridge tall enough to clear all boat traffic on the Intracoastal would cost from $14.5 million to $18.5 million but would have minimal maintenance costs, Seiler said.